As China's Consumer Floodgates Open, a Local Tesla With Added Range Is There to Greet Them

Timing is everything, a famous person (possibly Gerald Ford) once said, and it would seem Tesla is in a position to capitalize on the returning consumer strength of the Chinese marketplace.

In a week that will be remembered by many Chinese as bringing about a return of free will and movement, such as that country can offer, Tesla plans to begin offering a domestically built Model 3 with considerable range.

As reported by Bloomberg, the Shanghai-built variant boasts more than 404 miles (650 km) of range per charge, company sources claim. That’s a marked upgrade from the roughly 280 miles offered by the base Chinese-market Model 3, and about 40 miles more driving radius than the Long Range version.

Pricing hasn’t been set for the longer-legged model, though Bloomberg’s sources point to a price just below the $50,000 mark. That’s a fairly short walk from the $45,800 entry-level model.

The range stated here isn’t translated into U.S. figures; still, the claimed 404 miles would still put this Chinese-market Model 3 well ahead of the loftiest version offered here. In the U.S., the Model 3 Long Range earns an EPA rating of 322 miles. Could the same range upgrade make its way to U.S. consumers once Fremont starts cranking out cars again? Stay tuned.

As for Chinese buyers, relative freedom has returned to the people of Wuhan — the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, barriers (both physical and legal) came down, allowing residents of the industrial heartland city to leave self-isolation — the city itself — after 76 days spent in lockdown. The same day, China reported no COVID-19 deaths in the country for the first time since the virus blew up in January.

Those are numbers provided by the country’s single-party state apparatus, so lend them whatever weight you think is warranted.

While the country’s economy and manufacturing base has been attempting to return to strength in recent weeks, the opening of Wuhan signals the start of a new chapter. As reported by The Hill, Wuhan’s deputy mayor claims 93 percent of the city of 11 million’s businesses have reopened. Millions of Chinese are hitting up national parks, with pictures posted to social media showing tourists jammed butt-to-gut in a mountain pass.

Outside observers, many of whom question the real extent of that country’s viral damage, claim China’s eagerness to reopen everything puts it at risk of a coronavirus flare-up — one that, as we’ve tragically seen, can turn into a wildfire all too easily.

As for Tesla, the automaker’s Shanghai plant was only offline for a few weeks as a result of the virus. As the company reportedly prepares to welcome a longer-ranged Long Range, “new energy vehicle” buyers in China will eventually have a locally built Model Y crossover to choose from. Just how many of them choose to do so depends on the country’s economic status and whether cautious declarations of a virus victory prove premature.

[Image: B.Zhou/Shuterstock]